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NewTypes2015-01-16 20:44:09
Neural networks
NewTypes, 2015-01-16 20:44:09

The theory of evolution: how are mutations generated?

Help me to understand.
There is a mechanism of inheritance of "promising" mutations. When a mutation allows you to survive or increases the chance of survival in general. Then the mutation is passed on to children, and after tens of thousands of years of layering the best mutations on the previous ones, we get complex organs (an eye, a sonar, etc., etc.). This mechanism works even with inanimate objects.
Now the question is: can mutations be formed on the basis of the current experience of a biological organism? Can they be launched? Can I shorten the search path for new improvements for my branch? Is there a mechanism-reaction to an irritant and search for a solution by the body itself? Let's say I swing hard, eat a lot and rest a lot. Or I read a book a day, at my leisure I look through the latest scientific papers, solve complex problems, work in science and at the same time I am busy commercializing promising scientific developments. Or I have been plowing a garden in Africa since childhood, being white. Is the body able to "regulate" the chances of having a child "more" adapted to these conditions? And if chance can be adjusted Isn't this just a search for the experience of the parents (based on past directions-improvements)? That is, when my body knows how to act in this case, but is not able to generate completely new paths (mutations) for my offspring (children). After all, it would load the body (probably the brain) and FIG would know what I could generate there and only aggravate the chances of my child's survival.
In general, I hope that I was able to superficially outline my thoughts.
Thanks for the comments!

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5 answer(s)
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maaGames, 2015-01-17
@maaGames

The whole point of genetic algorithms is that mutations are random, and not controlled by the programmer for some aspects. Sampling does not occur before the mutation (with a choice of what should be changed), but already in the mutated generation. The whole point is that an unpredictable decision can be more effective than a predictable one.
It's like if a programmer thinks that to increase the speed of movement, you need to increase the number of legs and after N generations he will get 100,500 legs, and random mutations will "teach" a cockroach to fold its body into a wheel (I kind of compared a centipede with some kind of mackerel).
Those. random mutations occur and the algorithm evaluates whether they have led to some improvement in the given traits. In the vegetable garden example, one would expect a child with spade-shaped limbs to plow the garden very quickly, but no sane programmer would specifically program such a creature.

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xandox, 2015-01-16
@xandox

Note that all women are born virgins.
Mutation is a random process, what we now have is explained by natural selection. Another thing is that now, in principle (more or less), it is possible to influence the properties of an unborn child through genetic engineering, but this has nothing to do with a rocking chair or plowing a garden.

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Mikhail Potanin, 2015-02-02
@potan

There are rare examples of the inheritance of acquired traits. The main one is bacterial immunity (CRISP-system), when descendants of bacteria acquire resistance to a phage that unsuccessfully tried to infect their ancestor.
In eukaryotes (like humans), epigenetic (cytoplasmic) inheritance is observed, when the genome is not mutated, and the inherited traits, expressed by the level of expression of various genes, are encoded in the cytoplasm (expression regulation factors) and DNA methylation. For example, if a woman was hungry during pregnancy, the child may have a large appetite. The role of epigenetics in evolution is debatable. most believe that it is insignificant. Nevertheless, there is an epigenetic theory of evolution, which states that usually adaptive traits appear precisely due to epigenetics, and then there is a selection of mutations that are most suitable for a given epigenetic situation.

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tuccar, 2015-01-16
@tuccar

The theory of evolution has long been refuted theory. This is already a dead theory, which scientists have abandoned everywhere. Even a few years ago, signatures were being collected all over the scientific world to renounce this untenable theory.
Further .. There are no positive mutations. Mutations are only negative. There is no such example in the biological world that a mutation improves the state of an organism or adds new functions and/or properties to it. But there are examples on the contrary, when a mutation worsens the body. Please, as many examples as you want, more than enough.

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Alexander Gorbatovsky, 2015-01-29
@dom3d

Mutation is possible only for the data segment.
The code segment cannot mutate.
All mutations for a code segment are destructive.

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